Tunnel Vision
by Just Jorts
Summary: When called to the medical training session for Sinnoh's gym leaders, Roark certainly wasn't expecting to have the best of times. Besides, a gym leader's job was pokémon battles, not emergency response. With his job relying on this, Roark's not sure how this is going to go, especially after the hell-bent instructor stirs up more than boredom in him.


When Roark received a summons for "Official Medical Training, Safety, and Instructions on Emergency Medical Response", he knew it wasn't the most exciting thing he'd be doing that summer. This letter always came like clockwork, every May 23rd, to be precise. And, without fail, a month after the letter appeared in his mailbox, he'd be dragged out to a lecture, sitting there for hours on end listening to the same, boring, old man who told him the same, expected information.

After all, if he didn't do it, he'd be without a job. Being a gym leader was partly the reason he could keep food in the fridge, so he had no other choice than to show up.

So, on June 23rd, that's exactly what he did. He showed up, standing in the middle of a bleak Sunyshore firehouse with an ambulance parked inside.

It's not like he had anything better to do, like supervising a working mine or running a gym. All paled in comparison to the esteemed importance of knowing how to slap a band-aid on a papercut.

_Let's just get this over with._

His instructor sat on the edge of the ambulance's roof, legs dangling precariously over the cab. He wondered how he didn't notice her sooner, as her bright blue uniform was a stark contrast to the beige wall behind her.

"Good morning, gym leaders! My name is Kira Tanaka, but you can just call me Kira." She slid down the front rather elegantly, aside from the clunking of her heavy, rubber-soled boots on metal.

"I'll be helped by my brother," she said, shortly after landing on the concrete, "Junseok. Or, just Jun. It's easier."

A man, a very tall and lanky one at that, walked out from behind the ambulance, a look of disinterest on his face. The two made an odd set, neither resembling the other.

Kira, with her red-brunette hair tucked in a tight bun, and Jun, with his bluenette grown-out bangs, stood side by side.

They made quite the pair, to say the least.

"Alright, I can see that you're all very confused. I can assume that the last time you did one of these, it was an old, cranky fire safety advocate." She adjusted her uniform, exhaling a quick breath. "I can assure you that both of us have more experience than they would ever have."

"It's hot, so I should try to make this quick." A sigh of relief rang through the garage. "So, Jun and I are both EMS providers and firefighters. He is an EMT-Basic, and I'm an EMT-Paramedic. Do any of you know the difference between those?"

Her eyes scanned the small crowd of overheating trainers, seemingly searching for anyone with a hint of energy.

She found none of that, only mild boredom and the rather unattentive gaze of the rock-type gym leader.

"Mr. Roark, you seem interested. Any ideas?" She asked, watching as his mind snapped back into reality and a blush grew on his cheeks. He, obviously, wasn't prepared for her quick scrutiny.

"Uh, y-yeah, the Basic has, uh," he stammered, visibly scrambling for an answer, "less training?"

He could hear his father's snickers above the drone of the overhead fan, making his predicament all the worse.

_Of all people, me. Great to see I'm back in school._

"Correct." A grin gew on her face as she strolled in front of the group. "I trained for about a year and a half to become a paramedic. I've been EMT certified for about two. I started when I was 18, I'm now 21 and a bit, and to spare the details, I'm very well trained for this."

Roark kept his eyes on her as she paced in front of the gym leaders, explaining the nuances of what they were going to review and how the class would be structured. His mind seemed to capture every other word, barely piecing together what she was saying.

It wasn't his fault that these lectures, ones they had to do every year, mind you, were just so incredibly boring and hard to keep track of. It was always the same information and the same droning tone, the only upgrade to this particular lecture being a slightly more entertaining instructor.

"Alright, for our first demonstration, we're going to do something I find quite exciting, I've learned. I've done this sort of thing with multiple groups, but you guys are- well..." she stopped, surveying the seemingly random-looking group of leaders, each looking notably different from the others, "one of the smallest and... quietest groups I've had."

"Anyways, would anyone like to volunteer?" After a quite potent pause without a single hand or voice being raised, she stopped, and a small smile revealed itself on her face. "If no one volunteers, I'll pick someone."

The silence filling the ambulance bay made Roark deeply uncomfortable. Something about this setting made the gym leaders awfully quiet, even the usual loud and chatty Candice was reduced to a whisper. It was odd, having this group of people who often chatted with and among each other being so docile, especially in the presence of a fairly engaging paramedic-turned-instructor.

Oh, right. Candice. Roark had almost forgotten. She was the one ever-so-gently prodding Roark's back, her voice an energetic whisper as she tempted him to go up and volunteer.

"You know you want to, Roarky." She breathed, stifling a giggle and poking his back for emphasis.

He turned to her, noting the taunting smirk on her face.

"I don't want to, at all. You know I hate these things." He replied in a hushed voice, letting out a small huff as he settled his shoulders. "Plus, I hate-"

"Roark!" Kira's sickening voice rang out throughout the ambulance bay. "Why don't you come up? You loved answering last time!" She grinned, her eyes rife with satisfaction.

_That sick witch, getting pleasure out of my pain._

"Fine, you got me." He squared off his shoulders once more, locking eyes with Candice once he stood next to Kira. Candice, rather amused by his misfortune, sent him a sly wink, leaving the miner far more flustered than he was before.

Roark could feel each and every set of eyes on him. Yes, it was only about nine pairs, but his mind tended to multiply things by infinite numbers when placed in a position of intense scrutiny. Of course, Byron's eyes, those familiar eyes of his childhood, weighed on him the most, reminding him of how hawks observed the small mice below them.

"Alright, first thing's first: stand up straight!" Kira's chipper, commanding voice broke through his mental daze, forcing him to focus on reality. He was quick to do as instructed, lest the eyes of his metaphorical peers see through his facade.

"Next, put your right leg between their legs," she said, stepping closer and doing as she instructed. "I should've asked- is me touching you okay?" she whispered, just low enough for him to hear.

"Y-yeah, I don't see why it wouldn't be," he muttered, looking her over. He wondered exactly what she was doing, as she wasn't even clear on that from the get-go. Her usual smile was gone, and she seemed to be in a pseudo trance, apparently thinking something over.

"It's a liability thing, you'd understand," she reassured.. He watched as regained her composure, a smile back across her face.

"Now, this is a series of steps I'll show you first, and explain later," she stated.

Kira grabbed his right hand, and he prayed she didn't notice the sweat collecting on it. She directed his arm over her shoulder, wrapped her arm around his knee and, very quickly, hoisted him into the air.

Needless to say, Roark did panic, albeit he hoped it wasn't as evident on his face as it was in his mind.

"Now, this is a fun way to transport people quickly if they're otherwise unharmed but unconscious. It's a matter of grabbing the right places, balancing them properly, and just being able to carry people."

Roark was barely listening, simply wondering how he managed to get himself into this situation. There he was, dangling over the back of a girl he just met, a girl who was shorter than him but definitely a lot stronger.

_This sure took an interesting turn._

Before he could process much more, Kira had his feet back on the ground and backed a few feet away, addressing the crowd once more.

"Jun and I will go around and help you guys out, be sure to find yourself a partner and have fun with it!" Kira clapped her hand twice, and, miraculously, the gym leaders began talking to one another.

Roark, still fazed, managed to make his way to Gardenia, who looked at him with an expression he definitely couldn't tolerate right now.

"Do we actually have to do this?" He mumbled, watching as Maylene easily threw Candice over her shoulder. "I mean, we could just pretend."

"I don't think there's any fooling that Kira chick, she'd single us out immediately." Gardenia sighed, stepping forwards. "Go ahead, toss me or something."

"I don't think that's-" He stopped himself, rolling his eyes. "Fine, just so we get this over with."

Roark hesitantly tried to replicate Kira's movements, grabbing as hard as he could as to not drop poor Gardenia, who clearly also wanted out of this stupid game. He focused on his hands, making sure to not let go or else she'd-

"Hey! You did that pretty well!" Kira chirped, a smirk on her face as she realized what she'd done. Gardenia's leg slipped out of his hand, sending the woman tumbling towards the floor. Kira was quick to step in, catching and promptly soothing a screaming Gardenia who, reasonably, saw her life flash before her eyes.

"Next time, keep your hands steadier. And make sure you don't get spooked." Kira was quick to walk off, leaving Roark with a still upset Gardenia beside him.

It was only a matter of time before Kira stood back in front of the crowd, her eagle eyes scanning the small crowd for enthusiasm. As expected, she found nothing even remotely close to that.

"Up next we have a demonstration, but I'll need another volunteer." Kira crossed her arms, waiting for a hand to be raised.

Again, nothing.

"Guess I'll have to pick our wonderful, enthusiastic Roark again! You just have such energy, come back up!" That ever-present grin was back on her face, plastered against her skin.

Behind that smile, Roark could see the sheer willingness to make him enjoy this, because she was trying her hardest to make this interesting despite the rather uninteresting nature of this topic.

"This is going to be a basic first aid instruction, such as bandaging, stopping bleeding, and keeping the patient stable. So, if you could, please lay on the ground."

Roark, for some reason, complied.

At least the ground was colder than the stifling atmosphere.

"Alright, first thing's first, we have an injury. Roark here is a miner, let's say he cut himself on a piece of equipment, how out of character!" She gestured to an area on his lower thigh. "There's a deep wound here, and you don't have a healing pokémon with you. If you happen to have one, good! That'll keep him stable until EMTs arrive.

"But, say you don't have one. It's a while until an ambulance comes." Roark watched as Jun handed Kira a small first aid kit. "And all you have is a few bandages. What do you do, Roark?"

Oh shit, that meant him.

"U-use gauze as a way to stop the bleeding?" He stammered.

"Yes, good. Apply counterpressure with gauze, but only after disinfecting your hands and the wound. Or use gloves, if you have them." She snapped a pair of latex gloves onto her hands, wiggling her fingers before grabbing a closed bottle of disinfectant. "Hydrogen peroxide, isopropyl, all types will hurt, but at least they work."

Kira proceeded to mock-pour the bottle and pressed a pack of open gauze on his lower leg. Roark, who'd zoned out after his answer, jolted back into the land of the living. He observed her carefully, watching as she gently wrapped the medical bandage around his leg, gauze firmly trapped beneath it.

Her eyes were trained on the dressing, making sure it was up to par, even if it was just for show. Her mouth was moving, but Roark didn't hear the words.

The next thing he knew, he had a pillow under his leg and he was laying flat on the floor, the eager paramedic fluttering over him. Her fingers, cold and covered in latex, pressed against his neck, her lips counting out his pulse.

"His heart rate's a little high, but it's expected in such a situation." She explained, sitting him upright and giving him a pat on the back. He blinked his eyes a few times, shaking his head as he did. "He's even a bit dazed, perfectly playing the part."

That damn smile was back on her face, but this time it was directed at him.

_Maybe I just need to lay back down._

"Alright, time for the final exercises! CPR, it's something you all should know, so this should go by relatively painlessly. And, we're adding some defibs into the mix, so we're gonna have a grand ol' time." Jun handed Kira a small pouch and placed a CPR dummy on the floor, which Kira lovingly gestured to. "This is Martin, he's our resident test dummy, and you'll be performing simple CPR on him. I'm assuming you've all been trained, so let's think of this as a review."

Kira strolled over to the dummy and knelt before it, facing the crowd. "Each of you is going to come up after this demonstration and we'll see how well you do." She held her hands out in front of her.

Roark, whose interest peaked about five minutes ago, yawned as he watched her explain the process of CPR, from the way to do compressions to how people should switch out after a certain period of time. He'd been fairly well-versed in it prior, and he felt no reason to continue watching aside from Kira, whose focus eyes and gentle strength kept his eyes from straying too far.

Her nimble fingers pulled apart a defibrillator pad and held it before the crowd as she explained what to do, her free hand wiping down the already sterile test dummy. Her eyes scanned the area, placing the pads precisely where she had explained. A few monotonous beeps echoed throughout the room as the device primed itself, delivered the shock, and turned off.

"The process is quite simple, once you've done it a billion times." She sighed, a look of finality across her face. "We'll split the group down the middle, review you all in the halves, and we'll all be on our way home!" She put her hand out, visually cutting the room in half. "This half," she gestured to the side Roark was on, "is with me. The other half is with Jun." The man in question nodded, and, without saying a word, strolled over to his half.

Not wanting to be first again, Roark headed up the back of the line, Candice and Maylene chattering in front of him. After all, it's not like it'd take him that long to complete this pointless test, it was something that'd been drilled into his head since day one at the mines. It was an easy pass, and soon he'd be headed back to Oreburgh and the sweet, sweet cold of his apartment.

Well, that's what he had thought before the CPR dummy beeped its disapproval at him.

Twice.

"It might be your hand positioning, try it again." Kira suggested, studying his hands with an attentive gaze.

Maybe, he thought, if she just looked away, he'd be able to focus on what he was supposed to be doing.

"I found your problem," she said, picking up each of his hands. "You have your hands over one another, like this," she used his right hand to cover his left, "when you need to lace them together. You're not getting enough force behind that motion."

"O-oh, okay." He resumed his position, counting out the compressions to the beat of a song. It was always easier for him that way, to hum the song as he went. Yet, he couldn't help but feel at least slightly judged by the way Kira grinned at his actions.

After thirty beats, or compressions, in this case, Roark stopped, giving mouth-to-mouth twice before the dummy beeped a noise of approval.

"Next, the AED." She gestured to the small, black box, lovingly festooned with stickers, each one declaring that, yes, in fact, this was an AED that belonged to Kira and Jun of Ambulance 22.

Mumbling to himself, he placed the sticky pads in the approximate locations he remembered, which is to the left of the heart and slightly below it. As the machine beeped out that it was charging, Roark commended himself for knowing, sort of, where the heart was.

"Congratulations, Mr. Roark, you've finally completed this oh-so-boring course." Her voice was lofty with fake importance and prestige. "How ever did you survive?" She tore off the defibrillator pads and placed them back on the AED, pinching her fingers to remove the stickiness.

"It wasn't as boring as it used to be." He admitted, standing as she did. "I mean, you did say it yourself."

"Yes, I did. I had those old guys as my instructors too, they were never interesting." She huffed, looking down at the dummy. "You did well, despite the bits of mistakes."

"I guess I was a bit distracted today."

"By what?"

_Don't say it's her, it's not her, she wasn't distracti-_

"Maybe it was the heat, or the content. Or maybe my instructor."

_Fuck_.

"Oh, was my teaching that bad? I know I did ramble a bit, and I did pick on you a lot, it's just that they always taught us to pick on the bored ones." She laughed, that same smile working across her face. "And you were a pretty good patient, I should use you for my other demonstrations."

_Why would she want to use me, I mean, I didn't even pay attention that much, I was constantly distracted, and I don't even know that much. Horrible example, really._

"I'm not good with... crowds, yeah, crowds."

"No one really is until you put yourself out there."

There it was, that same grin that kept distracting him earlier. The same one that was etched into his brain and flashed behind his eyelids when he blinked. His brain, no, his heart told him he wanted to see that smile again.

"Well, we both have to get going." Kira was slow to pick up her defibrillator, slinging it over her shoulder.

"Oh, let me-" Roark looked down, surprised to see air where the dummy once was.

"Jun took it a while back, he's the stronger out of me and him." She chuckled, her hand covering her face. A part of him wished she hadn't done that.

"W-wait, before you leave," he said, holding a hand out. He looked quizzically at it, hesitantly placing it back by his side. "Will I see you around?"

"Maybe once a year, if your gym needs inspecting. Or maybe sooner, if a mass casualty incident occurs. One's a bit more guaranteed and preferred, though."

"Well, I, uh-" He stopped himself, for he knew he'd only keep stammering. "What I mean is, can we talk some other time? Not in this, well, formal setting."

"I don't see why we couldn't, I'm stationed in Jubilife anyways." She adjusted the strap on her AED, pulling out her phone. "Put your number in, I'll text you in a bit." Her tone was more relaxed, he noted, and she didn't have the fake persona from before.

Not that he minded.

He typed in his number and name, handing it back to her and watching as it disappeared back into a pocket. "Well, I guess we'll be seeing each other around!"

The sound of the ambulance's engine roaring to life punctuated her point.

"Yeah, we will be." He felt as if a weight was lifted off his chest, which was odd, because he didn't remember the weight being there in the first place. "Until next time."

"Yes, until then! Have a safe trip back home!" She exclaimed, running back to the ambulance with the AED bouncing behind her.

"You too." Roark mumbled to himself, watching as the ambulance left the bay, turned a corner, and disappeared behind a set of bushes.

He'd never been so happy to hear his phone ding in his pocket, a message flashing across the screen.

_Unknown Number: so, when's our next time?_


End file.
